Entertainment

Broadway actor James Beeks charged with January 6 attack on US Capitol – The Hollywood Reporter

Officials say a Broadway performer affiliated with the far-right Oath Keepers militia group was arrested Tuesday on charges of being involved in storming the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 uprising. officials said.

James Beeks, 49, of Orlando, Florida, was charged with obstruction of Congress and misdemeanor trespassing into a restricted building or property, according to court records. He was arrested in Milwaukee and made his first court appearance in Wisconsin. He was released pending further court proceedings. The case is being prosecuted in Washington federal court.

Beeks as Judas in the itinerant Broadway show Jesus Christ Superstar and acted as a Michael Jackson impersonator, and it was his “Bad” jacket that helped prosecutors identify him, according to Washington Post. Other Broadway credits include Kinky Boots, Ragtime and Smokey Joe’s Cafe.

According to court documents, Beeks joined others in protesting Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory over former Republican President Donald Trump. Authorities say a mob stormed the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying the election results. Five people died in the violence.

At one point during the attack, a group of members of the Oath Keeper and its affiliates marched in “stack” formations into the Capitol grounds and then up the eastern steps of the Palace. Capitol to the area outside the door of Rotunda. Prosecutors said Beeks was part of a mob, including some who attacked law enforcement. The doors are finally broken, and the group storm the Capitol.

Once inside the Capitol, the group split up. Officials said half of them, including Beeks, tried to make their way through the ranks of law enforcement officers guarding a hallway leading to the Senate chamber. Law enforcement pushed back their advance. Beeks and the others with him regrouped in Rotunda and then left the building.

Before the confrontation, Beeks joined a group of Oath-Keepers as he walked from Ellipse, where Trump held the “Stop Theft” rally, to the Capitol, officials said. Unlike the camouflage combat outfits of many of the group, Beeks donned Michael Jackson’s “BAD” world tour jacket and black helmet, and he was carrying what appeared to be a homemade black shield, officials said.

Online court records do not list attorneys for Beeks.

More than 675 people have been arrested in nearly 50 states since January 6, officials said, on charges related to the trespassing on the US Capitol. More than 210 people have been charged with assault or obstruction of law enforcement.

THR staff contributed to this report.

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